The information society
| Date | 01 February 1996 |
| Published date | 01 February 1996 |
| Pages | 171-177 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045464 |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The Information Society
Continuing our review of initiatives and projects that will help the growth of the
Information Society. If you know of such a project, or are involved in one that you
would like to see here, please contact the Managing Editor, Ben Jeapes, at the
publisher's address.
Canada
Electronic filing of tax returns
Canada has instituted an automated
system that allows individual income
tax return information to be delivered
to Revenue Canada electronically.
The system, EFILE, can be used by
most Canadians. However, people
with certain tax situations — such as
non-residents, those who have de-
clared bankruptcy or those with in-
come tax payable to more than one
province — cannot use this automated
system.
To be
able to send their returns elec-
tronically to Revenue Canada, people
have to use the services of registered
transmitters such as tax preparers or
accountants who display the EFILE
symbol. Most electronic filers provide
this service for a modest fee. In many
cases,
the cost of filing electronically
is included in the cost of preparing a
tax return. Revenue Canada is encour-
aging more organisations to reduce the
costs of providing this service so more
people can take advantage of EFILE.
Benefits of EFILE are said to in-
clude improved accuracy; reduced
postage, handling and processing
costs;
reduced paper use; and fast
processing (Canadians who file their
returns electronically can expect to
have their returns and refunds proc-
essed within two weeks). Although
Revenue Canada has made EFILE
available as another option for filing a
tax return, individuals who want
to
file
a paper return can still do
so.
Revenue
Canada also accepts income tax re-
turns using Electronic Data Inter-
change
(EDI),
the filing option that the
Ministère du Revenu du Québec uses.
In 1993, Revenue Canada proc-
essed more than 2 million electroni-
cally filed returns when EFILE be-
came available for the first time
nationally. The number of electroni-
cally filed returns increased to 3.2 mil-
lion in 1994 and 3.9 million in 1995.
This year, the Department anticipates
that up to 4.5 million Canadians will
use EFILE.
Denmark
Full electronic filing systems
Denmark claims to have becomes the
first country in the world where a na-
tional registry authority allows public
authorities to discontinue using paper
archives and introduce full electronic
filing systems. From 1 January 1996
the State Archives make it possible for
public institutions to introduce full
electronic case administration and fil-
ing systems. Documents which are
'born' electronic should also be filed
electronically and not in a paper ar-
chive.
The transition to electronic case ad-
ministration with the public authori-
ties and institutions is a major element
in the Danish government's IT Politi-
cal Action Plan
1995,
which holds that
electronic case administration is as
much a cultural and research political
factor as a technological challenge.
The Ministry of Research and In-
formation Technology and the State
Archives will in the coming years fol-
low technological development
closely
to
ensure that the guidelines re-
garding electronic filing from the State
Archives are adjusted on a regular ba-
sis.
The State Archives also intend to
follow the development of informa-
tion technology in public administra-
tion. The authorities can therefore en-
ter into special development agree-
ments with the State Archives
regarding the organisation and filing
of electronic materials.
Information Society by the Year
2000:
Draft Proposal
In late March 1994 the Danish Gov-
ernment appointed a two-member
Committee on the 'Information Soci-
ety by the Year 2000', commissioned
to draft
a
proposal for
a
comprehensive
project which will tie public institu-
tions and companies together by
means of modern information technol-
ogy and create new possibilities for
citizens. The Draft Proposal has now
been published, and is summarised as
follows.
The
Electronic Service Network of
the Public Sector
Public administration at both central
and local level (amt and kommune)
must be connected by an electronic
service network, which should provide
better service for both citizens and
companies as well as more efficient
administration.
The establishment of such a service
network means that information which
has already been given to one public
institution by citizens or companies
should not be requested by another
agency. For citizens and companies it
should be possible to send letters and
information to public authorities by
electronic means, and to receive an-
swers the same way.
The components of a service net-
work include the following:
• all citizens will be offered an
electronic Citizen's Card with
picture and PIN code. Conse-
quently a number of other public
The Electronic Library, Vol. 14, No. 2, April 1996 171
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